Newbie with a problem - Mini-Skirmish - Help, please!

0037ksm

0037ksm

Joined
Feb 23, 2007
Messages
367
I'm new to knives and stumbled on this forum by accident a little while back. It's a great community and I've already learned quite a bit just surfing through the posts, but I'm having a problem I hope someone can help me with.

Based on forum reviews, I wanted a small Sebenza but just couldn't make that big a financial commitment this early in the game. In the local mall knife shop I handled a Mini-Skirmish and was impressed with its fit and finish and how smooth and easy it was to open. Almost the same quality as the Sebenza but a lot less expensive, or so I've read. After some searching, I bought one from an individual on ebay to save a few dollars.

It was advertised as "new, never carried" and it certainly appears that way. But the action is horrible. It's very difficult to get it started, like the detent that holds it closed is almost too great to overcome. Then, through the rest of the opening action , it's too stiff. Not so much gritty or sticky as it is too tight. It binds and swings open in fits and starts.

I tried washing it in warm soapy water as recommended in this forum and tried rinsing it with alcohol and lubing it with gun oil as was also suggested. It didn't make any difference.

Any ideas? At this point I'm thinking I'll have to try to get the seller to take it back and keep shopping. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Chris
 
To tell you the truth, I think it may be how you are opening it. With framelocks you have to watch how your fingers are positioned. Think about it. When you push up with your thumb, you are squeezing your other fingers and they may be pushing the lock itself , causing the blade being hard to open. Try pushing your fingers off the SIDE of the lock when opening.

A lot of my friends who are new to knives had problems opening my framelocks as well until I pointed it out to them.

Give it a try and see how it goes. My mini skirmish was quite easy to open.
 
naggalowmo - thanks for the suggestion but I'm sure that's not it. I have a couple of other framelocks that are quite easy to open. Even after I get the blade started, I can grasp the blade between two fingers and pull it open and it still stick and binds. The one in the store opened very smoothly, there's something wrong with this one.
 
This is just a thought, but it's possible it just needs to be broken in a little. You want it to come from the factory a little tight. She'll loosen up in time, just work her a little.
 
So8unds like your pivot is too tight , invest in a multi torx bit like the cheapie made by Huskie , comes with 8 bits and works.
Then buy some Loctite , probably blue is what you need.
Loosen the pivot , play with it , see how smooth you can make it without any blade play , horizontal or vertical.
Add a drop or two of Loctite , put it back in that position and let it sit overnight.
Problem solved.
 
Another thing you can do is press down on the lockbar HARD and open the blade a couple times. This will wear a little track in the side of the blade for the detent ball to ride through. The other option is adjusting the pivot a very small amount and opening/closing the knife alot to break it in. I had the same problem with a Surefire Delta and I never adjusted the pivot, I pressed on the lockbar while opening it and just played with it. After about 2 weeks it was opening smoother than any other folder I had, with no increase in blade play (as there was none to begin with :)).
 
All of mine have been stiff from the factory. They break in just fine. I was wondering as a seller, if you have done all of this to a brand new knife and your are going to break it all in and you decide you don't like it I don't believe it would be fair to ask for a refund on a used knife! Just my thought's because people have done it to me.:eek:
 
Before I tried any of the forum-suggested remedies, the seller made it clear they would not take the knife back. Their comment was, "the knife operated fine when I mailed it."
 
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